Everyone knew that the iPhone was going to be big from the
moment it was announced
in early January. Apple CEO Steve Jobs hailed the device as the ultimate in
mobile communications given that it could function as a phone, a mobile
Internet device and as an iPod.

As the months progressed, the hype mushroomed even though
the iPhone lacked a user-replaceable battery, physical keyboard, expansion
slot, voice dialing, A2DP, MMS, iChat, flash support, copy and paste ability
and video recording -- not to mention that the iPhone was tied solely to
AT&T.

It appears that all of the minuses stacked against the
iPhone weren't enough to phase buyers who lined up days in advance to purchase
the latest "it device" from Cupertino. Not even the $499 (4GB) and
$599 (8GB) price tags were enough to keep Apple from selling
around 525,000 iPhones from 6:00 PM Friday evening through close of
business on Sunday.

Nearly all of AT&T's stores were depleted of iPhone
stock by Saturday whereas Apple's retail stores are currently faring much
better (you can check iPhone availability here).

Apple's iPhone launch didn't go off glitch free, however.
Many users complained of activation problems with iPhone. The iPhone can be activated
through iTunes and the steady rush of users scrambling to activate their
phones overloaded AT&T's servers.

"We are working on any issues on an individual basis
with customers who were impacted," said Michael Coe, a representative for
AT&T.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel noted that a "small
percentage" of customers were having activation issues. "Our first
priority is to get them up and rolling as quickly as we can," Spiegel
continued.

For its part in the matter, an Apple
spokesman simply said "There are a small percentage of iPhone
customers who have had a less than perfect activation experience."

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